News Analysis India

Tag: up police

  • Three inter-state criminals held from Gwalior’s crowded locality after combined op by UP-MP cops

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Residents of crowded Dana Oli locality in Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh woke up on Thursday to a real-life crime thriller, as three inter-state criminals were arrested after an hour and half joint operation of MP and UP police.

    The three criminals, who were arrested with three single-shot country-made guns and 25 live cartridges, were holed up in a house in the lanes of Dana Oli area’s Jamunalal Market. The house owner’s son was lodged with one of the three criminals in the past at Dabra jail in Gwalior, owing to which they used the house as a safe hideout.

    The trio was involved in a recent loot case in Shivpuri Bazar area of adjoining Jhansi district of UP. One of their aides had revealed to Jhansi district police about the hideout of the three criminals on the run.

    “A team from our local police station went with the Jhansi police team to the spot in the crowded area at around 9.05 am. But all three criminals started brandishing their weapons and training the guns at the police. Soon, more police personnel and senior police officers were sent to the spot,” Gwalior district police superintendent Amit Sanghi told The New Indian Express.

    Seeing the police numbers increase outside, the three gunmen shut themselves in the house and started training guns at the cops to get a safe passage out from the area. Coming to know about the situation, the SP-Gwalior Amit Sanghi himself reached the spot and asked the trio to surrender.

    Seeing their hideout being surrounded by police and no safe passage to escape, the armed trio demanded that media personnel be brought to the place for their surrender. But even after the media teams reached the spot, the trio didn’t come out, after which the police fired tear gas shell into the house, which forced one of the criminals to come out and surrender before the police.

    However, the remaining two were not ready to surrender even after an hour. The police shifted residents of adjoining houses to safer places and warned them of grenade attack if they attempt to resist arrest any further.

    The warning worked for the police as it subsequently got the two out from the house.  The three arrested men have been identified as 30-year-old Laljit Yadav, a native of Azamgarh district of UP who carried Rs 25,000 reward, 26-year-old Saddam Khan who hailed from Datia district of MP and 20-year-old Pawan Parmar from Rajasthan’s Dholpur district.     

    “The entire operation continued for an hour and half, after which all the three armed men were arrested. Had these men not been traced and arrested, they could have committed some big crime in the crowded area, which also houses the jewellery market,” SP Gwalior Amit Sanghi said.

  • Issue of ‘forcible cremation’ of Hathras gang-rape victim could not be heard due to judge’s ‘absence’

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: A public interest lawsuit over the alleged inhuman cremation of the Hathras gang-rape-cum-murder victim overnight after her death could not be heard by a Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court due to absence of one of the judges on the bench.

    The case was earlier listed for hearing by a bench of justices Ranjan Roy and Jaspreet Singh, but owing to the absence of Justice Roy, it could not be heard.

    The mater will now be listed for hearing on a later date as per the relevant bench’s instruction.

    The case was last heard on January 16 when the bench had seen various video clippings on the overnight cremation of the victim and other aspects of the case, submitted by various media houses.

    ​ALSO READ | Hathras DM, who was under fire for post-midnight cremation of rape victim, transferred

    The media houses had submitted the video and other material related to their news reports on the Hathras case on the direction by the court.

    The Lucknow bench of the high court had taken suo motu cognisance of the case, especially the news reports alleging the overnight and forcible cremation of the victim by local police.

    The 19-year-old Hathras girl had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after she was allegedly raped by four men of her village on September 14 last year.

    She was allegedly cremated in the middle of the night in her village.

    The girl’s family members had claimed after her death in Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, the Hathras police had whisked away her body and had cremated her overnight without their permission.

    The police had allegedly not allowed the family members to take the body even to their home.

  • Bar on diesel sale to stymie tractor parade lifted after social media outrage

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: A circular issued by the Gazipur police in eastern Uttar Pradesh advising fuel outlets not to tank up tractors ahead of the proposed farmers’ parade in New Delhi was withdrawn after it drew flak on social media on Sunday.

    Ghazipur SP Om Prakash Singh sought to play down the circular, claiming it was issued by a station officer two days ago.

    “It has been withdrawn,” he added. The circular issued by station officer of Sohawal in Ghazipur refers to the ‘high alert’ ahead of the farmers’ rally, and tells fuel outlet owners to sell diesel to tractors.

    “Farmers have announced to take out a tractor march. Therefore, you are advised not sell diesel to any tractor or in a can…” it read.

    The UP police on Sunday mounted vigil in districts bordering Delhi, besides putting 100-odd farmer leaders under house arrest.

    The top brass met on Sunday to chalk out a strategy to tackle the rally, a day after an attempt by farmers to besiege Raj Bhawan.

  • Uttar Pradesh ATS arrests two Chinese nationals for alleged role in money laundering case

    By PTI
    NOIDA: The Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Uttar Pradesh police on Sunday said it has arrested two Chinese nationals from Noida for their involvement in a money laundering case.

    The duo, including a woman, had allegedly used forged documents to open bank accounts from which money was used in criminal activities, the ATS said in a statement.

    The Chinese nationals have been identified as Pochnli Tengli and Xu Xunfu, and they were held from Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Saturday, the ATS said.

    “The UP ATS had earlier issued Red Corner Notices and Blue Corner Notices against the duo. Both the Chinese nationals were arrested on Saturday on the basis of evidence following an investigation into the money laundering case,” it added.

    A Red Corner Notice is a kind of international arrest warrant for fugitives where Interpol requests its member countries to arrest or detain them, while a Blue Corner Notice is an enquiry notice.

  • Two killed, over ten injured in head-on collision in Uttar Pradesh

    By PTI
    MATHURA: Two persons were killed and over ten injured in a head-on collision between two four-wheelers on Nandgaon Barsana road in the district on Sunday with a motorcyclist tailing one of the vehicles hitting it from behind, police said.

    Two persons travelling in a pick-up van died on the spot when a Scorpio SUV carrying some pilgrims from a Mathura temple hit it, Mathura’s Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sirish Chandra said.

    As the two vehicles collided, a motorcyclist ended up hitting the pick-up van from behind, said Chandra, adding all the injured persons were rushed to various hospitals in the district after the accident.

    The accident took place near Sanket village under Barsana police station, the SP said, adding the Scorpio was carrying pilgrims coming from Ladli Ji temple in Barsana.

    The two people travelling in the pick-up van were returning from Shergarh after condoling the death of their relative, he said.

    The two killed in the accident were identified as Pohap Singh, 65 and Kanhaiya Singh, both residents of Neemgaon village under Goverdhan police station.

  • Tractor rally: Farmers’ movement toward Delhi keeps UP police on toes

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: With hundreds of farmers already on the move and gathered at the UP-Delhi border to take part in tractor parade on the Republic Day, Uttar Pradesh police have sounded a high alert across the state, especially, western UP and Agra.

    The UP Police brass held a meeting on Sunday evening to chalk out a strategy to tackle with the issue, a day after they foiled the attempt of hundreds of farmers’ to reach Raj Bhawan in Lucknow. Meanwhile, over 100 farmer leaders were put under house arrest in west UP, while police conducted strict checking of vehicles at district borders and stopped tractors from proceeding to Delhi.

    ALSO READ | More batches of farmers from Punjab head for Delhi to take part in R-Day tractor parade 

    Farmer leaders alleged that fuel stations were also told by police to not give diesel to tractors. The copy of an order issued by Ghazipur districts of eastern UP went viral in which fuel pump owners were requested not to give diesel to tractors. “You must be aware that high alert has been sounded in the state and Section 144 clamped in view of the Republic Day. Farmers have also announced to take out tractor march. Therefore, you are advised not to sell diesel to any tractor or in a can….” an order issued by station officer of Sohawal police station in Ghazipur says.

    Ghazipur SP Om Prakash Singh though says that the order was issued by the SO two days ago and has been withdrawn. “It was just to advise pump owners that they should give fuel only to tractors which have full fitness to minimise accidents on the highway,” he said.

    Barricades had been put up to stop protestors from eastern UP districts following the announcement of farmers planning to gather in the capital and protesting at Raj Bhawan. Around 16 members of BKU were reportedly put under house arrest in Mahoba. Moreover, there have been hectic rounds of discussions between the officials of the Uttar Pradesh police and farmers’ leaders at UP Gate in which all security, traffic and other arrangements were being reviewed and fine-tuned.

    ALSO READ | KRRS threatens roadblocks if permission denied for Bengaluru tractor rally on Republic Day

    Sources said security arrangements were beefed up at the UP Gate protest site and the estimated number of security personnel there may reach about 5,000-6,000 in coming days. According to Praveen Kumar, inspector general (Meerut range), police officials were in touch with the farmers’ leaders at UP Gate. The IG also said that farmers would not be stopped from entering Delhi if the Delhi police would allow them to move in.

    “There will be no use of force. Police personnel have been roped in from different districts in western UP, besides deployment of rapid action force and other security personnel. At UP Gate, we are working with the volunteers of the farmers’ unions to ensure that there is no movement of outsiders at the site,” he maintained.

    ALSO READ | Thousands of farmers to reach Mumbai for January 25 rally against farm laws

    The farmers’ leaders said that tractors have already begun their journey from different areas in UP and Uttarakhand and are expected to reach the site by January 24 or 25. The entire UP Gate area is divided into sectors and zones and is being monitored through the control room with the help of CCTVs. The police have also roped in local intelligence units to ensure that the protest remains peaceful and anti-social elements are kept at bay.

  • UP medical student rescued from abductors, Delhi doctor among 5 held for kidnapping

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The sleuths of UP Special Task Force (UPSTF) and Gonda police rescued Gaurav Haldar, the 21-year-old kidnapped medical student on Friday and arrested a Delhi-based doctor and his four accomplices. 

    Haldar, a student of Bachelor of Ayurveda Medical & Surgery (BAMS), was abducted in Gonda on January 19.

    Additional DGP (STF) Amitabh Yash, who led the probe into the case, said that the victim was honey-trapped by a Delhi-based lady doctor, who was a friend of mastermind Dr Abhishek Singh. Dr Singh is an Ayurveda practitioner employed at Rathi Hospital in Najafgarh, New Delhi.

    As per the police sources,  Dr Abhishek Singh, along with his accomplices Nitesh, Mohit, Rohit, Satish, and Dr Preeti Mehra, abducted Haldar and demanded a ransom of Rs 70 lakh from his family.

    Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi has announced a cash award of Rs 2 lakh for the team of cops that rescued the victim.

    Police teams of Gonda and STF are now working to nab Dr Preeti Mehra who honey-trapped Haldar.

    “On January 18, Dr Mehra called Haldar from a phone belonging to passers-by outside his hostel in Gonda. Abhishek and his aides then abducted him,” said ADG Amitabh Yash while interacting with media persons.

    The officer claimed that the first ransom call of Rs 70 lakh was made to Nikhil, the father of the victim. Nikhil worked at a private clinic in Bahraich. Later, through electronic surveillance, the cops tracked their location to GB Nagar following which the Noida unit of STF was alerted, said Yash.

    The captors called the victim’s father and demanded Rs 70 lakh on Thursday and instructed him to deliver the money in Lucknow, said the STF. Based on the information, a trap was laid near the Expressway police station and a sedan car was intercepted which suddenly opened fire on the STF team. However, another team overpowered the passengers of the car in which Haldar was also present along with the captors.

    In order to confuse the investigators, the accused abducted the victim in Gonda, made the first ransom call from Santkabir Nagar and kept the victim in Delhi.

    “The mastermind was Dr Abhishek Singh and his aide Rohit, who also hailed from Haldar’s village, gave all the information about Haldar. The abductors fielded Dr Preeti Mehra to lure Haldar,” said the officer.

    On the fateful day, Dr Preeti called up the victim and asked him to come out at the college gate in Gonda. Following the call, the victim came out and was abducted in a sedan car and taken to Delhi.

    “He was thrashed and also injected drugs to keep him in an unconscious state,” said the police. 

    As per the ASP STF, the victim was first taken to Greater Noida and then dumped in the mastermind’s Dr Abhishek’s flat number 310, Gloria Apartment of DDA in Bakrawala area of Delhi. Gaurav was injected with drugs to keep him unconscious in captivity, said the STF ASP.

    The STF also revealed that the accused had planned Haldar’s abduction on last Diwali.

    The mastermind of the incident Dr Abhishek Singh had visited Payagpur in Bahraich during Diwali 2020. He had been planning the abduction since then by taking Rohit, Nitesh, Mohit along. While Rohit was Bahraich-based, Mohit, Nitesh, and Dr Preeti all are based in Delhi.

    Additional SP (STF) Raj Kumar Mishra said that Nitesh was an accused in a fraud case in Gujarat and to get him bailed out, Abhishek along with Mohit, Rohit and Nitesh planned the abduction. 

  • Ahead of Republic Day, bomb hoaxes keep cops on their toes in UP

    By PTI
    NOIDA: In the run-up to Republic Day, at least six hoax bomb threats have been reported in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and Allahabad this week.

    The miscreants behind these hoax threats, which even prompted evacuations in hospitals and shopping malls, are yet to be identified.

    FIRs have been lodged in connection with some of the incidents, according to officials.

    Panic gripped a busy neighbourhood in Noida’s Sector 63 on Friday morning as heavy security was deployed and the area cordoned off following an alert that a bomb-like device was found on a road.

    “The device was checked by a bomb disposal squad which found that it had no detonator or explosive attached to it.

    It turned out to be a suspicious-looking item with a watch strapped to its front portion and placed there by some miscreant,” a police spokesperson said.

    On Thursday, an unidentified caller informed a prominent private hospital in Noida’s Sector 27 that a bomb was placed in its basement, triggering panic and evacuation of people from the premises.

    “Police personnel, bomb disposal squads, dog squads and fire tenders reached the hospital immediately and the building was checked for any suspicious item.

    It turned out to be a hoax,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida, Ranvijay Singh had said.

    In Ghaziabad, an LPG cylinder with a watch-like device attached to it triggered an alarm on Wednesday.

    The “suspicious” item was found in an empty plot in Madhuban Bapudham area by two police officials on patrol duty.

    A bomb disposal squad soon reached the spot and found that it was not a bomb.

    However, an FIR has been lodged against an unidentified person, according to Ghaziabad police officials.

    Two hoax bomb threats were also received in Allahabad and one in Kanpur on Friday.

    “The police were informed that a bomb had been placed in PVR mall (Vinayak City Centre).

    Security was deployed immediately and the area cordoned off for a search by bomb disposal squads and anti-sabotage teams,” SP (City) Dinesh Kumar Singh.

    The officer said similar information was received regarding the Star World multiplex on Katghar road in Mutthiganj area of the city.

    Both turned out to be hoaxes.

    Singh said police are tracking the persons who gave the false information and action would be taken against them.

    In Kanpur, a Twitter user flagged a bomb threat for South X shopping mall in Kidwai Nagar area and a couple of other crowded spaces in the city on Friday, triggering panic among the public and quick deployment of security personnel.

    Later, in a statement, the Kanpur police said it was a hoax as no explosives were found in the vicinity of the mentioned spots.

    An FIR was lodged against the Twitter user at the Juhi police station and legal proceedings initiated.

    The Twitter handle, @suryavanshiBad1, which had posted the bomb hoax, could not be found when last checked by PTI on Saturday morning.

  • 50-year-old widow raped, impregnated in UP’s Mahoba: Police 

    The woman has claimed that she is pregnant and has also alleged that the accused has threatened to kill her, the SHO said.

  • UP cops ask ‘Tandav’ director Ali Abbas Zafar to record statement in Lucknow

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A team of Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday visited the Mumbai residence of Ali Abbas Zafar, the director of controversial web series ‘Tandav’, and served a notice to him, asking him to appear before the investigating officer in Lucknow on January 27, an official said.

    The UP police team is in city to conduct a probe into the case registered in Lucknow against the makers and cast of the web series, the official said.

    “Zafar was not available at his residence when the police team went there and the door of his house was locked. Therefore, they pasted a notice in the premises,” the police official said.

    “As per the notice, Zafar has been asked to appear before the UP police in Lucknow to record his statement at 10 am on January 27,” he added.

    A video and photos of the UP police team visiting Zafar’s residence made rounds on social media.

    According to officials, the police team from the northern state is also likely to visit other cast of the web series to record their statements in the case, the officials said.

    At least three FIRs have been registered in Uttar Pradesh against the makes and actors of ‘Tandav’ for alleged inappropriate depiction of UP Police personnel, Hindu deities, and adverse portrayal of a character playing the prime minister in the political drama.

    ‘Tandav’, which features actors Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dino Morea, Kumud Mishra, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Gauhar Khan and Kritika Kamra, premiered on the streaming platform last Friday.